My Life is You
by xoloveJBox
Summary: Brand/OC-Snapshots of Brand's life with his best friend Lucy. Possible tag to a fic I'm thinking of, but not too sure yet. Might be ok, if you like that sort of thing, so give it a try? I value reviews like gold :D Oneshot.


_**A/N: Helloooo lovely people :)**_

_**Ok, so I've recently rediscovered my love for The Goonies, and this has been playing on my mind ever since, until I started putting pen to paper. I'm thinking of writing the OC into a multi-chapter fic of how she would fit in in the movie, but I'm not too sure yet, so I thought I'd introduce her first and see what people think. I don't even know if people still read/write Goonies fics anymore, since the film is older than I am, but I actually kind of like this, and the muse bunnies wouldn't leave me alone.**_

_**Reviews=love! Let me know what you think!**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

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><p><em><strong>My Life is You.<strong>_

At five, they start school. They don't know each other, but Astoria is a small town, and they've both seen the other at the park with their fathers, or the supermarket with their mothers. It takes a month for Brand to even remember the name of the shy little girl with the long dark pigtails, and even then he doesn't speak to her. Why would he want to play with someone who would give him girl cooties?

At eight, Lucy experiences the darkest day, when the squealing of wheels and the crunching of metal leaves her as an orphan. The whole town hears about it, whispering sympathies over coffees, but what could they do? A week later, Lucy is ushered back to school by social workers. Still, Brand doesn't notice her until he hears her crying in the corner of the playground at recess, cornered by a few kids who were bigger and pulling at her hair. He thinks about going back to his game, but when he sees one of the boys push her down, he knows he can't. He storms over and tells them in no uncertain terms to leave her alone, or he is going to kick their asses. He knows his mother would yell if she hears him, but he feels the curse word is justified. The bigger kids laugh at him, but walk away anyway. Brand helps Lucy to her feet and invites her to play with them, if she wants.

They are nine the first time Lucy falls off her bike and hurts herself. Brand laughs at first, expecting her to join in like she usually does, but this time, it is tears that come, not giggles. His face falls when he sees the blood well up and run down her knee. He dumps his bike next to hers and crouches at her side, willing her to stop crying. _Please, stop crying. _They are only playing the small area outside his house, but his mother is out with Mikey, and his father is busy in the attic, so no one hears them. Brand thinks about what helps him, when he gets hurt, and the only thing that comes to mind is when his mother kisses him better. He thinks he should be embarrassed that she still does it sometimes, but it's the only thing he can think of. He just wants her to stop crying, so he leans down and quickly pecks the side of her knee, away from where the blood is trickling down her leg. Surprised, Lucy stops crying, though she can't help the sniffling that follows. Brand is relieved that it worked because he doesn't know what he would have done otherwise. After a few minutes of waiting for the stinging to pass, Brand helps her hobble to his living room, where they spend the rest of the afternoon watching cartoons.

They are ten the first time Lucy is adopted. Phil and Jane are a nice enough couple, unable to have children of their own, but Lucy hates the fact that she is expected to try and replace her parents. The first time they take her out, Lucy is adamant that Brand has to come too, and they show the two children her new room. It is pink, and it makes Brand laugh to himself. Lucy hates pink.

She is also ten the first time she runs away. It is dark, and she packs as much as she can into a backpack before sneaking out the back door while Phil and Jane-she never calls them Mom and Dad- watch tv in the living room. The orphanage is only marginally better, so there is no point in going there. They'd only send her back again anyway. She thinks about heading to the cemetery where her parents were buried, but she has to admit that the idea of the gravestones in the dark, alone, scares her, and besides; it is too obvious that she'd go there. She'd be caught before the sun had even risen. So there is only more place she could try. The Walsh's.

Mr Walsh comes out when he hears the lock on the gate rattling. Lucy is already crying, knowing her plan has failed as she struggles to reach over to unlatch it herself. Her best friend's father looks at her sympathetically and ushers her inside, where it was warm. Brand is peeking out from behind his mother when she enters, the whole household awoken by her attempt at sneaking in, but he soon relaxes when he sees it is Lucy. She continues to weep quietly while Mrs Walsh calls her adoptive parents, who have yet to notice that she was gone, but Lucy begins to feel a little better when Brand sits next to her on the couch, ruffles her hair and tells her everything will be ok.

Ultimately, they are still ten when she is driven back to the orphanage, after Phil and Jane have miraculously been able to conceive a baby of their own. They promised that they would keep in touch, that she can still visit if she wanted to, but she doesn't, and they don't call. Lucy isn't all that upset about it. The first night back, Lucy is invited to stay at the Walsh's in an attempt to help her get used to the way things had been before, but the truth is she's never felt like things were so normal until she is sitting on Brand's living room floor, eating pizza and playing video games with her best friend.

They are twelve the first time Brand calls her 'Coop.' He hears some of the other boys calling each other by their surnames, and when they are playing dodge ball-Lucy included, no matter how much everyone else protests to having a _girl _play with them- it just slips out. Lucy stops abruptly, and Brand thinks she is going to yell at him, but a grin erupts on her face, and it makes her look so happy that Brand wonders if he should ever call her 'Lucy' again.

They are fourteen the first time Lucy kisses a boy. It is clumsy and awkward, but she and some of the other girls had been talking about their first kisses in the locker room after gym class, and when she bashfully admits that she hasn't had hers yet, a girl from her class tells her she knows someone she could try it out with. Not only does she get her first kiss, but the boy-the captain of the soccer team- asks her out to the movies that weekend, and that afternoon, Lucy races to Brand's house to tell him. Her best friend is not as impressed as she is, but she barely notices the way he sulks all night after that.

It only takes a few months for the same boy to reduce her to tears in Brand's living room. Brand rubs a hand gently on her back as she soaks his shoulder with tears, mumbling an explanation. He just about understands that she'd arranged to meet him after his soccer practice, but she'd arrived early to see him kissing a cheerleader under the bleachers. When she finally stops crying, Brand leaves her watching tv with Mikey, feeling too miserable to go home just yet, and says he is running to the store for ice-cream. But the ten minute bike ride takes him forty-five, and he comes back with a bruised knuckle that Lucy pretends not to notice. She does, however, smirk when she sees the boy's black eye when she and Brand pass him the next morning.

They are fifteen the first time Brand notices Lucy is wearing a bra. He thinks she must have been wearing one for a while, because she doesn't look any different, but he can see it this time, the strap peeking out from under the shoulder of her tank top. It's a soft, pale blue with a subtle line of frill along the edges. He realises he's been staring, but Lucy doesn't seem to notice. She simply carries on with whatever she's doing, like it's no big deal. But Brand feels his cheeks flush bright red as he forces his gaze away, and it has nothing to do with the heat.

It is that year that Lucy decides she is never shopping for Brand ever again. It is the first year she's had enough allowance to be able to buy him something for his birthday, and after all the years she's been left feeling guilty when she opens something from him, she is determined to make it good. But, she starts to realise that she has underestimated just how much a good gift costs, and he seems to change his mind every hour about what he likes and dislikes. In the end, she picks something he will find useful, even if he doesn't particularly like him, because he budget is more restricted that she would like. She wraps it carefully, trying to make it look better than it is, and when they day comes, she gives it to him hesitantly. When Brand opens it, if he is disappointed, he doesn't show it, and with a grin on his face, he folds the red bandana up and ties it around his head.

At sixteen, they find out that their homes are going to be foreclosed, and there isn't a fat lot they can do about it. They are all miserable about it, but when Mikey finds an old treasure map in the attic, Lucy convinces Brand to let them search, to make the most out of their last weekend together. Never in a million years does she think they will end up facing escaped criminals, booby traps and pirate treasure, but they do, and more. Even if they hadn't managed to sneak out enough wealth to not only save their neighbourhood, but to keep them there for a long time, they have the best weekend of their lives.

They kiss for the first time on the beach, after they are told that they can all stay in the Goon Docks. They are put on babysitting duty that night while the parents in the neighbourhood sort out the business with their homes, so their second kiss doesn't come until the next day, when they finally manage to sneak away together, but in the few hours that pass they have kiss number two, three and four. Lucy doesn't have to pretend anymore that she isn't jealous of Andy Carmichael, and Brand no longer has to wish that it is Lucy's hand he is holding.

At seventeen, they study together in Brand's bedroom. Lucy leans against the backboard with her book on her knees, while Brand lies next to her, flicking idly through his math work. When he gets too bored to pay attention, he stops Lucy from turning the page by slipping his hand into hers. She smiles at him, but goes back to her book, so Brand sits up and peppers kisses along her collar bone, working up to her neck.

"Brand," she mutters, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end at his touch "I'm studying."

"You're always studying," he replies softly, brushing her hair back. Lucy shivers slightly, and Brand pulls away, lying back down with the ghost of a smirk on his face.

"Alright," he sighs a little overdramatically, "Let me know when you're done."

Lucy bites her lip and nods, but she soon finds that she can no longer concentrate. It only takes a few minutes before Lucy tosses the book aside and flips over, straddling his waist in one swift movement.

She leans down and presses a kiss to his lips before whispering "I'm done."

Sometimes, Brand asks Lucy to read through his papers before he turns them in. He's always thought that she is so much smarter than him, and he knows she'll tell him when he's made a mistake without being mean or patronising about it. He sometimes wishes she'd just do it for him, but he knows she won't so he doesn't ask that of her. When they are juniors, Brand hands her a creative writing piece for his English class. As always, she puts away all of her own work and gets comfortable, making sure he knows that she is giving it her undivided attention. He loves that. He watches her intently as she reads it, and finishes with a frown on her face, then starts again. He starts to get nervous because he spent a lot of time on it, and doesn't feel like redoing it. Lucy reads it three times before looking up at him.

"Brand," she starts, and he readies himself for her telling him, albeit as gently as she can, that he should really start over. But the words don't come. Instead she finishes with "This is amazing."

Brand is surprised for a minute, but then a grin flashes across his face. He shrugs dismissively, like it is no big deal, but it is-it _really _is- because he is actually kind of proud of the assignment, and people are already hounding him over what he wants to do at college. He thinks he may have worked it out.

At eighteen, they get ready for prom. Lucy saves up her allowance, and does extra chores around the house for weeks to be able to buy a dress from the goodwill store. There isn't a lot of choice, but she makes it work, and when Brand comes in and sees her, he still finds himself speechless. Lucy feels uncomfortable in the dress, since she is more accustomed to hand-me-down jeans and worn sneakers.

"Do I look like a dumbass?" She asks Brand self-consciously, pulling at a strand of hair that has already escaped from the loose bun she's pulled it into.

"N-n-no," Brand stammers when he finds his voice "You look...awesome."

"Yeah?" She questions, feeling her cheeks flush slightly, and Brand nods, stepping forward and slipping the corsage his mother has picked out for him onto her wrist. She wonders how much he's fought his Mom about wearing his red bandana, but either way, Mrs Walsh has won.

When they leave to go back to the Walsh's for photographs, Brand surprises her by driving himself,

after finally passing his driver's test.

A few weeks later, they graduate. They don their caps and gowns, and Brand's mother fusses with them both until it is time for them to sit with the rest of the seniors. As they listen to the speeches, Lucy wishes that Brand is sitting next to her, but she is one of the first in the line, and Brand is all the way at the back. When it is time for them to receive their diplomas, Lucy wishes the ground would swallow her whole, because the thought of walking across the stage by herself leaves her feeling more exposed than she can ever remember. But she takes a deep breath, and when her name is called, the sound of Brand cheering is louder than everyone, but coming in close second is Mikey, standing on his chair in the crowd to wave eagerly at her. She beams at him, and notices Mr Walsh fervently clicking away with his camera, and if she looks carefully, Lucy thinks she can see Mrs Walsh's eyes filling, though she is sure the tears won't fall until Brand is shaking the principle's hand. But it doesn't matter. She realises, not for the first time in her life, that if she can't have her own family, the Walsh's are the next best thing imaginable.

Because she is eighteen, Lucy doesn't go back to the orphanage when she finishes her first year of college. Instead, she moves in with Brand, and it's easy for him to make room for her. He even makes the trip back to Astoria the weekend before they were due to leave for the summer, just to make sure. His parents aren't sure what to think about them not only sharing a room, but a bed. But in the end, they decide that they both love each other too much to do anything the other isn't comfortable with, and neither are stupid enough to do anything without precaution. Besides, they are both, technically, adults, and Mr and Mrs Walsh would much rather they stay with them and enjoy themselves before adulthood really struck the loved-up teens than struggle to get by by themselves.

They spend their days lounging in the sun; strolling the streets of downtown, laying in the park. Sometimes, they even find themselves on the beach they'd ended up on after their run in with the Fratellis. It was where they'd shared their first kiss, and many, _many _more afterwards, and in the end, on the last night of summer before their senior year of college, it is where Brand gets down on one knee.

At nineteen, Brand crashes his car. He stays awake just long enough to tell whoever will listen to call Lucy first, then the world swallows him whole with the taste of her name on his lips. Lucy is sure she doesn't know the woman who calls her, her voice thick with shock and franticness, but she manages to pull out enough to know that she needs to get to the hospital, praying not to God but to her parents to keep him safe, to keep him from suffering the same fate as they had a decade ago.

Mikey arrives just after Lucy. After receiving a message from his mother through the principle, the little brother had run straight to the emergency room- literally. He hadn't really needed his inhaler

since their goonie adventure- that weekend had changed something about them all- but the journey still left him breathless. But not so much that he couldn't take Lucy's trembling hand and tell her 'Goonies never say die, right?'

At twenty five, Lucy is no longer called Lucy Cooper. The wedding is small and simple, but Lucy thinks it is perfect, and when they say 'I do' she becomes Lucy Walsh.

Finally part of a real family.

Sometimes, when they'd had a long day and he was tired, Brand would climb into bed with her and, on the edge of sleep, he'd forget himself and whisper 'Goodnight Coop."

They are twenty seven the first time Lucy misses a period. She takes a test, and within ten minutes, the little plus sign on the screen tells her she is pregnant. Brand is in the kitchen making toast and sipping fresh coffee when Lucy goes down to tell him, and he is ecstatic as she is. The first thing he does is call his little brother.

She is twelve weeks along when she wakes up in the middle of the night, a dull ache in her back and a throbbing pain in her stomach. She sits up and notices the blood on her bedsheets. Her hands start to tremble as she shakes Brand awake, but her voice is steady when she tells him they have to go to the hospital. Brand is frantic as they drive, but she remains surprisingly calm. She already knows what has happened. She can feel it. She doesn't need a doctor to tell her she is no longer expecting a child.

She is twenty-nine when it happens again. This time, she lays a towel on the seat and drives herself to the hospital since Brand is at work, and she can't bring herself to tell him just yet that she lost another child. She does, eventually, and he meets her in the emergency room, looking tired and older than he had that morning. When they get home together, the first thing he does is call his little brother, and Lucy vows that he won't do it to him again. She can't.

At thirty, Brand has his first book published. Lucy thinks that she was always sure that one of the Walsh boys would end up telling stories, but if she is honest, it isn't the elder one she pictures. But Lucy is sure that she is more excited than Brand is, proudly telling everyone she knows about her husband's feat. Brand had refused to let her read even a single letter while he was writing, so when he comes home with the first copy, she eagerly takes it from his hands and drinks in every word of a beautiful story about a group of kids looking for pirate treasure to save their homes.

They are thirty-two when Lucy overhears Brand talking to his mother on the phone, telling her how much he didn't realise he wants children until it looked like they couldn't. Each word chips away a piece of her heart until it finally shatters. An hour later, he finds her in their bedroom, sobbing as she piles her things into a suitcase.

"I can't stay if I'm making you unhappy Brand," she explains weepily to the look of confusion on his face "if I can't give you what you want."

For a second he still doesn't know what she's talking about, but realisation hits him like slamming into a brick wall.

"You're what I want, _dummy._" He tells her firmly, but Lucy scoffs bitterly, still tugging clothes from the closet and throwing them haphazardly into the case. Brand scoops them all out and dumps them on the bed, taking her shoulders in his hands before continuing "We've been best friends for twenty-four years, Lucy! Do you really think I'd want you to leave over a little thing like this?!"

"It's not a little thing Brandon!" She yells back at him "Because I cannot risk another miscarriage again! I can't!"

"Fine! We'll adopt then" he retorts without hesitating "or we'll get a surrogate, or _something_!" He softens his voice and leans down a little to look her straight in the eyes. She doesn't want to meet his gaze at first, but as always, she finds herself drawn to it, like a magnet "Me and you; we're a team, no matter what Coop."

Her breath hitches in her chest. It's been a long time since he's uttered the familiar childhood nickname, and it envelops her like a hug. The next thing she knows, she is wrapped up in Brand's arms, and she feels like she's come home before she's even left.

At thirty-three, Lucy doesn't think she will miss another period, but she does. She takes a test to make sure, before telling Brand she is pregnant for the third time. They smile and hug each other, but there is a shadow hovering over them. Brand decides to wait a little while before calling his little brother.

They are careful, and they try not to let themselves get too excited, always expecting the worst, but when Lucy reaches the second trimester, and then the third, they can't help themselves. Brand clears out his gym equipment from the spare room and makes it a nursery just in time for their son to be born. They call him William Michael Walsh, and Lucy and Brand both think he is the most perfect thing in the world. William was Lucy's father's name, and if she is honest, she has always thought that she will name her son after him, but now, it has a different meaning too. Mikey knows it, and even calls his nephew Willie sometimes. He might have been a pirate, but he is the only reason they all stayed together all those years ago.

They are thirty-six when Brand and Mikey decide they are going to build a tree house. Lucy tells them over and over again that there is no point because the boy is too young, but they build it anyway. It takes all summer since they both have to fit it around work, but when it is finished; Lucy has to admit that she is impressed. Watching the brothers work reminds Lucy of how they were when they were children, and for a few hours every day, she is seventeen again. But then she decides that this, the here and now, is better.

Lucy is thirty-nine the night she walks past her six year old son's bedroom, and hears her husband telling the story of the Goonies. She notices that he tells it just like his own father used to tell stories to Mikey, the way Brand used to laugh at.

William drinks it all in eagerly, wide-eyed and mesmerised, despite the fact that it is well past his bedtime. She is about to walk away, leaving them to relive one childhood and create another, when she hears,

"Dad, was Mom a Goonie?"

Lucy smiles when Brand replies "Your mom was my favourite Goonie."

When they are forty-three, Lucy notices that Brand's hair is peppered with grey, and he doesn't bother to shave his beard as much anymore. But she doesn't mind. She thinks he looks like a writer now. When she tells him as much, he laughs and says "I should hope so!" and her eyes flicker to the bookshelf, where there are now seven books with his name on the spine. He tells her that, with any luck, there will be eight soon.

They are forty-four the day William comes home from school, wearing a red bandana around his head just like he sees his dad wearing in his parent's photo album. He has his friends in tow and proudly proclaims "Mom, Dad; look, we're the Goonies!"


End file.
